Wanted: B Squad Green Ranger
by Kiko Kamia
Summary: The B squad is looking for a new green ranger, but it's not going to be easy. Combine a reluctant cadet, retired rangers, internal politics, and a villan who you thought was long gone, and you get a very interesting story.
1. Intro

A/n: just so you all know . . . this is set AFTER the finale, so Sky is red ranger, Bridge is blue, and there is no green ranger at the moment.

**Chapter 1**

**Intro**

"You know . . . we need a fifth ranger." Z announced as she flopped down on a couch in the lounge.

"What do you mean? We're fine." Sky disagreed.

"Maybe you are, but we lost Jack and Sam . . . we need a new green ranger." Syd pouted and held her hand out pathetically. "Today, I broke _another _nail."

"Bridge, what do you think?" Z asked the blue ranger who was sitting next to her.

"I think . . . I think I need some toast." Bridge announced as he got up and headed for the toaster. As he came back, with one slice of toast in his teeth and two in his left hand, he smiled. "Buh ah doo fink wee deed a due bander."

"As disturbing as that was . . . I was able to understand it." Syd grimaced.

"Fine, let's go talk to Cruger." Sky sighed. _Just what we'll need . . . a newbie on the team_.

* * *

Sorry that this chapter was so short! But as the chapter title stated . . . this is just getting us into the meat of the story! 


	2. Some Problems

**Chapter 2**

**Some Problems**

"You're serious? Well, I suppose if you all agree . . . I'll arrange for the C-squad cadets to have their reviews early. I'll leave it to the four of you to decide who you want to become your teammate. But I warn you, there are bound to be some problems with any decision you make." Cruger warned.

"What do you mean?" Z asked.

"You'll see." The commander replied simply. "C-squad should be having combat practice outside right now. You can go watch them to get some ideas."

* * *

"C-squad! Line up!" Shouted the teacher.

Off on the sidelines of the field, the four rangers scoffed. "What is up with them? Are they unable to jog at least? How did they make it past day one in the academy?" Sky growled.

"Well, she looks like she's paying attention." Syd motioned to a red-head at the far end of the line. Unlike the others, she'd sprinted over to her teacher and was standing at attention.

"As far as I can tell, she's the only one who I might consider becoming a ranger." Z agreed. "The others look like bad attitude central."

"So you've noticed?" Kat asked as she came up behind the disgusted quartet. "Everyone except Cadet Jones are paying students, students whose parents are paying a lot of money for them to come 'learn' here, but most of them just goof off. They can't be expelled."

"Well, what about the Jones girl?" Bridge asked.

"She's the daughter of a janitor here, so her education is free." Kat explained with a smile. "She's a really good kid, but you won't get to see much from her during her classes."

"She gets left out of training exercises, doesn't she?" Sky asked with a grunt. "Never enough time, and there's an odd number of students . . . it wouldn't be fair to pair her up with two others, or match her up against someone who has already done their sparring match."

"Whoa, Sky, where'd that come from?" Syd asked, taken aback. He'd been a 'free ride' student too, but no one had ever treated him differently because of it, had they?

* * *

Camila stood straight. Her black SPD uniform was hot and uncomfortable in the bright summer sun. Knowing that reviews were coming up also made her uneasy, especially since her teachers were total jerks to the 'free riders'.

"Your reviews are going to be two weeks early this year." The combat teacher shouted in his usual macho-man tone. He'd been a professional wrestler for several years and he loved to flaunt the fact. Little did he know, many people made fun of him for his 'no neck' appearance. "And they'll be conducted by the B-squad rangers. There's an open spot on their squad, and they're planing on picking a new green ranger."

Immediately, the line broke up. Each 'paid' kid was begging or complaining to Mr. Noneck. "Sir, my parents will pay good money for me to become red ranger!" "Me, me! I want pink! Not green!" "Why would any of us want to be the lousy green ranger! Who do you think we are!" "Why should I take orders from some blue gone red free rider!"

* * *

Sky watched as the majority of the cadets swamped their leader, disgusted. Camila Jones had stayed in her place, eyes downcast. Both of them could hear what the students were saying, pretending that the words didn't hurt, but they did.

* * *

"Bridge, I never acted like that . . . did I?" Syd begged. "They seem so pampered and needy."

"No . . . well . . . maybe a little for the first few days . . . but you got over it." Bridge admitted.

"There's no way I'm going to let any of those brats have the satisfaction of being a ranger." Z announced stubbornly. "We'd be better off letting Piggy into the kitchen."

". . . take orders from some blue gone red free rider!" The whining drifted up to their ears.

Kat's eyes narrowed as she suppressed a hiss. "None of them should be at SPD with that sort of attitude." Hearing foot steps leaving, she turned. "Sky?"

The red ranger looked back to meet the Felina's gaze. Turning away, he said one chilling sentence. "They're going to have to go through me before they hope to become a ranger."


	3. Birds of a Feather Part I

**Chapter 3**

**Birds of a Feather Can Cause Stormy Weather Part I**

As Sky made his way to the records room, he saw a group of paying D-squad cadets knock several rolls of paper towels and trash bags from a janitor's cart. Making a mental note of their names, he bent over to retrieve a roll of paper from next to his foot.

"Well, whaddya know? Schyuler, it's good to see you!" Joe Jones, the janitor, chuckled as he noticed his helper. "Not doing too bad for yourself, huh? Looking pretty nice in that red. Haven't seen you since you were in D-squad."

Broken out of his funk, Sky grinned. "Good to see you too, and thanks. How've you been?"

The elder man scooped up a few wads of paper from the floor and deposited them in his trash bin. "Eh . . . not bad, not bad. Heard you're gonna be doing the C-squad reviews."

"Yah. It should be interesting." Sky lied, but then fessed up. "We're supposed to find a new green ranger too. Have you got anything to say about Camila Jones?"

"Heh . . . I could give you that girl's life story. She's my daughter." Joe laughed as he saw the surprise on Sky's face. "Didn't know, huh? Yup . . . she comes home every night, ranting on about something that she learned, but as soon as she gets into her room, the music comes on, and you don't get anything else out of her. Basically the same every night. Why do you ask?

"Well, it helps to know what a candidate is like based on other sources than test scores and video footage." Sky shrugged. "Between the two of us, I have to say that the selection is really slim as far as ranger material."

"Hmm . . . you don't say. Well, speak of the little devil!" Joe's deep brown eyes lit up with child-like excitement. "Cammy, c'mere!" He waved over the red-head who'd just entered the corridor. "Have you ever met Schuller Tate before?"

"No. Not really." Camila's voice held a guarded note of suspicion as she was put between her father and a stranger. "You're B-squad, red ranger, right?"

"That's right." Sky shifted uncomfortably. Camila's hazel eyes were dangerous, frightening. "Are you ready for reviews?"

"Yes." Camila nodded. "Not to be rude, but I really need to get something to eat. See you later, Dad." And with that, she slipped past the two men and continued into the staff living quarters.

"Heh . . . never realized how much that look could startle someone. I guess she even got you, huh?" Joe scratched the back of his head. There was still a fair amount of dark brown hair that hadn't started graying or falling out, yet. "She's always like that when others are around, cold and steely, like one of my friends from when I was younger. I don't know what caused her to get that way."

"After seeing her class, it's probably the same reason that I used to act like that." Sky looked down the hallway. "Would you mind if I tried to talk to her?"

"Go ahead, but you might want to protect all vital organs." Joe chuckled as he began to push his cart off in the other direction. "I don't want my apartment to become the scene of a murder."

* * *

Pausing, Sky knocked lightly on the door marked 'Jones'. He was about to knock again, when the door slid open. The red-head stood in the doorway, holding a meat cleaver. "Yes?" Camila asked with the same vacant, icy tone. 

Suddenly, all of the nerve that he'd had as the blue ranger fighting against Grumm vanished. Sky was left as confident as a wet kitten on a doorstep. "I was wondering . . . if you'd like to talk a bit." _Congrats, Sky . . . that was about the equivalent of a seventh-grader asking his crush out for the first time._ The red ranger kicked himself mentally.

A slightly amused twinkle forced its way into Camila's eyes. "No." Was the curt reply, and the door shut.

Feeling like a total idiot, Sky knocked again. When there was no answer, he glanced around to make sure that no one else was within earshot. "I know how it feels. Being treated differently just because your parents work here, getting called a free-rider, teachers not giving you a fair chance . . . it hurts."

"At least your dad was a ranger, someone others looked up to." Camila's voice was coming from the other side of the door. "My dad is just the one who just called when someone gets sick in the lab. He doesn't even know about how I get treated . . . I could never tell him." She opened the door a crack, looking out with one eye.

"Give me a chance, I don't think we're as different as you might want to think." Sky surprised himself with how warm his voice sounded.

"Why? What difference do I make?" Camila's words were bitter. "I'm just an extra body standing outside, sweating for however little everyone thinks I'm worth."

* * *

**Next Day**

* * *

"Bridge . . . can we come in?" Z and Syd asked anxiously from an inch outside of the door that led to the guys' room. 

"I suppose. What's going on?" Bridge questioned.

"Blackmail material. Watch." Z replied as she booted up Bridge's computer and proceeded to hack into the base's security cameras that were placed around the city.

"Wait! Don't do that!" The blue ranger cried. "I'll get in trouble if they find out my computer was used to access that!"

"No you won't. Kat taught me to do this as a precaution that the main computer would crash, so we'd still have surveillance, and I was ordered to practice on different models of computers in different locations." Z smiled. "I'm just following orders."

"And we found something great." Syd giggled. "Take a look.

Reluctantly, he turned to look, and then laughed in spite of himself. "What is Sky doing?"

* * *

"Are you sure this is okay?" Camila wondered. The loose white gi felt strange compared to her SPD uniform. She'd let Sky talk her into going to the local gym so that he could help her train for the review if she wasn't ready. 

"Don't worry about it, besides, I don't think you can hurt me." Sky chuckled as Camila gave her bamboo staff a doubtful glance. He was also wearing a gi. "Besides, I _am_ able to make force fields."

* * *

"Is he out on a _date_?" Bridge made a strange sound that was a cross between a snort and laugh. 

"Don't know, but I do know that the girl is Camila Jones." Syd giggled in glee.

With a mischievous grin, Z turned to face her fellow spies. "I wonder if I could crash their little party."

"Sky'd kill you." The duo objected.

"But what if I could?" Turning back, Z's eyes flashed gold, and a replicate appeared behind Camila on the screen.

* * *

Sky's eyes widened as he saw Z appear, wave, and then disappeared. Glaring, Sky turned and saw the small black camera in the corner of the room. "Those guys are going to get it." He picked up a roll of athletic tape and covered the lens with several strips. 

"What?" Camila looked around the empty room. "There's no one here."

"It was Z Delgado . . . yellow ranger . . . she can make duplicates of herself." Sky checked to make sure that no other clones had appeared. "Bridge and Syd also have powers. Even Jack had powers, but he quit SPD."

"Really? That's . . . strange." Camila commented in a relieved voice.

Sky shook his head. "Not really. There was a mishap when our parents were trying to create the ranger powers that SPD uses today. Ironic that we were all rangers and came together on the same team. Well, I thought you were going to show me what you're able to do."

"Okay . . ." Camila took a deep breath and rushed forwards.


	4. Birds of a Feather Part II

_Hello! I know, I've been cruel making you wait this long ... but I'm back with a new chapter, and I'm really hoping to update more often. Be ready, 'cuz there's a nice twist in this chapter ... it's also gonna get a bit darker than previous chapters ... hey, what am I doing telling you what's going to happen?-? ... in order to find out any more, you'll need to keep reading till you reach that lovely blue button ... R&R!_

**Chapter 4**

**Birds of a Feather Can Cause Stormy Weather Part II**

Z crowed with delight. "I've got'em!" She'd been accessing camera after camera, trying to find another way to watch Sky and Camila.

"Really?" Syd and Bridge rushed over, practically, tripping over the other.

"Yah, and it's right across the room from where the other camera is. See? It's right there." Z pointed to the top left corner of the screen.

"Sooo … he used tape. I was wondering what that was…" Bridge took a bite out of a fresh slice of toast. Z and Syd turned to face him. The blue ranger shrugged and smiled. "Do you two want any? It's buttery."

* * *

Sky's eyes widened as his hands began to sting. Camila had struck out with her staff, and he'd just managed to block it with his own. Spinning back around, she caught Sky behind the knee.

"Sorry." Camila immediately apologized, but didn't stop moving.

"You're pretty good." Sky complimented her as he blocked another strike.

"I'm not sure you could say that." She paused, and Sky used a low, spinning kick to send her to the floor.

"You shouldn't … whoa!" Sky began to reprimand the younger girl, and was caught off guard when she used her hands to spring off of the floor and used that momentum to slam her feet into Sky's chest, knocking him back and into the ground.

* * *

"Yah! Haha … go Camila!" The three rangers cheered and exchanged high-fives.

"I can't believe she was able to take Sky out so easily!" Syd giggled.

"That. Was. Awesome. Just imagine if Sky had been any lighter … he'd have been down for the count!" Z's voice was soft with awe. "She's gotta be our green ranger … even if the others haven't had reviews yet."

"Let's just wait and say that we didn't see what we did. Even though, we did, and we can't say that we didn't see it, because we just did …" Bridge stopped as he realized that he was rambling. "Let's just do the reviews. If she does as well then, as she just did now, then no one can argue with us."

The girls looked at each other and shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

* * *

"Sorry!" Camila apologized again as she realized that Sky'd had the wind knocked out of him.

"Where'd you learn that?" The red ranger asked as he struggled to regain the air that had been forced from his lungs.

Camila shrugged. "I learned how to break dance from a couple of my dad's friends one time ... then they showed me how to change it around a bit to use in a fight."

Sky shook his head and chuckled as he slowly stood up. "It's a good thing you aren't that heavy."

Smiling shyly, Camila dug a towel out of her black backpack and wiped her face. "I guess so. I never really thought about that."

"Well, I think you should be okay as far as the reviews." Sky grinned slightly. "Each of us will have our own challenge or task that you have to complete, but you shouldn't have any problems. Before you know it, you'll be wearing green on your uniform."

Camila tensed as she picked up her bag and started for the door. "I don't know… if I'd want to be a ranger."

"What?" Sky placed a hand on Camila's shoulder, and gently turned her to face him. "Why not?"

"I'd just cause more problems for SPD." Camila stated as she ran out of the room. _Crud ... how could I have been so stupid? I could never be a ranger ... never._ She pushed her way out the door and came out on the sidewalk. _I don't have a choice ... I'm just going to quit SPD._

* * *

Sky sprinted out into the daylight, searching for Camila's red hair among the crowds of aliens and humans who were out enjoying the Saturday afternoon. About a block to his left, he caught a glimpse of Camila as she turned the corner which was considered the border between the 'good' and 'bad' parts of New Tech City.

"Camila!" The red ranger began to run down the sidewalk, trying to ignore the dirty glares he got as he tried to scoot around people who were blocking his way. _Please don't let her let her get hurt ..._

* * *

She kept running. That was all Camila cared about for the moment, putting distance between her and Sky. _Stupid, stupid, stupid ... _The self insult followed the pattern of her steps and breath. Too late, she realized that there was a deep pothole in her path. Camila stumbled, fell, and rolled, feeling her ankle twisting awkwardly. "Stupid!" She spat at the ground, gritting her teeth. "Idiot!"

"Well well ... lookie at what we've gots here ..." Several members of a street gang began to gather in a semi circle around her. Thankfully, she had a solid, old ware house to her back. "Did the little girl come to the wrong side of the tracks?"

"Back off, if you know what's good for you." Camila warned while trying to analyze her situation. She had a sprained ankle, actually, it was probably broken, and lots of cuts, scrapes, and bruises from her tumble. There were also a total of seven guys, each one was armed with a handgun and a length of pipe.

"Come on, sweety, do we look like the kinda peoples who would try to hurt a little thing like you?" The tallest one asked as he took a casual step forward. "Well, does we?" He was the leader, and none of the others made a move to keep him back. They stood waiting, like a pack of wolves waiting to dive in for the kill.

"Yes." Camila hissed, feeling extremely vulnerable on the ground, but she couldn't stand up. "You do seem like the type."

"Heh ... good answer." The leader aimed his gun at Camila. "The name's Bob, and if you don't wanna have a hole in your head ... you gonna come wit me real nice an' quiet."

"How about choice number three?" Camila growled. "You back off and I won't use you to wipe this alley clean."

"Ooooh ... we're a fighstey one, ain't we?" Bob grinned, revealing decaying teeth. "Well, then go ahead ... hit me."

* * *

Sky cursed himself. Somehow, he'd lost sight of Camila and couldn't figure out what direction she'd went in. _I really wish that Bridge was here ... his power would be a lot of help._ Sky pulled out his morpher and crossed his fingers for luck. "Kat? Are you there?"

"Sky! Where are you!" Kat's voice reprimanded him. "You were supposed to be back half an hour ago! Joe has been wondering where Camila is too."

"I'm currently wondering that too." Sky muttered, but Kat heard it.

"What was that, Sky? It sounded like you don't know where she is ..."

"I don't know where she is ... she freaked out when I mentioned her maybe being green ranger, and she ran into the old section of town ... I lost track of her and can't figure out where she went." He heard Kat's sharp breath. "I was hoping that you could maybe try to scan for her."

"Hold on ... you should have called right away." Several agonizing seconds passed until Kat got the results she was searching for. "I've got her. She's four blocks south and one block east from your present location ... there are eight other human energy signatures surrounding her ... knowing the part of town she's in ... it's a gang ..."

Sky took a moment to be sure of his directions and then took off running. "I know ... hopefully she can hold them off ..."

* * *

Rounding the final corner, Sky couldn't believe what he saw. Seven street punks were being thrown around like leaves in a twister. What surprised him the most was the cause. Camila was hovering above the ground next to the old military warehouse, eyes glowing green, focusing telekinetic power through her arms and hands in the form of green serpents that were coiled around the gangsters.

"Camila! Stop!" Sky shouted, rushing toward her. _What happened to her? Could she also have powers just like the rest of us? It could explain why she sounded relieved when she heard about our powers ... but somehow ... her power seems different ... _He took Camila by the shoulders and shook her roughly. "Hey, come on! Snap out of it!"

"Let me go." Camila's voice had changed. It wasn't cautious and meek anymore, but vicious and blood-thirsty. "They deserve it." Her eyes glowed brighter. "They challenged me ... now you challenge me ..." Two more serpents grew from her palms and wrapped themselves around Sky's neck and torso, trapping his arms.

"Camila ... you don't want to hurt anyone." Sky attempted again to break whatever it was that was holding Camila under it's spell.

"Oh yes I do." Camila's voice was cold and sharp, like a razor blade, cutting into everything. "I want you all dead."

"So, how do you like Camila version 2.0?" A tall man in black asked with an evil smile as he walked out of the shadows and stood next to Camila. "Dark Ninja magic is so helpful in bringing out the worst in people ..."

"You! I've seen you in the villain archives!" Sky struggled against the crushing pressure on his ribs as the snakes constricted. "You're Lothor! What are you doing here?"

"Hahaha ... yes I know ... I'm quite near ancient now. They say fame and fear are timeless, I suppose that is correct." Lothor chuckled. "But who needs either when you've got this doll?"

"What do you want with her!" Sky demanded.

"You want to get to me, don't you?" Joe asked as he appeared in a streak of yellow (go ahead and guess who 'Joe' really is). "Leave Camila alone. She's got nothing to do with what happened in Blue Bay Harbor."

"That may be true, but you won't risk your daughter's well being ... will you, yellow ranger?" Lothor laughed again. "You and Marah should have known better than to think that I would let you live peacefully."

Joe shrugged. "We didn't really think so, but we were hopeful. Lothor, just let her go ..." The father was pleading with the banished ninja now.

"Not a chance. Camila, release them all and follow me." Lothor ordered.

Camila nodded and released the seven unconscious thugs and the nearly suffocated Sky. Camila seemed upset as she sprang into the sky after Lothor and disappeared.

"Sky, are you going to be okay?" Joe asked the red ranger, who was in a crumpled ball on the ground, urgently.

Sky nodded, his face tinted blue by the lack of oxygen. "I'll be fine ... but ... Camila ... I don't understand ..." Sky stopped as he was caught by a coughing fit.

"I'll explain everything once we're back in the Command Center, but first of all ... my name's Dustin."

* * *

_Yup ... Dustin's back, and the rest of the NS rangers will show up next time. More will be explained about why Dustin was using and alias and all of that good stuff coming upsoon... just you wait. Actually, you have to ... don't you? Don't forget about that little blue button down there ... I love reviews soooooo much ... just no flames._


	5. Dark Ranger

**Chapter 5**

**Dark Ranger**

"I still don't get it." Syd shook her head. "So, Camila's parents are an ex-ranger and an ex-evil space ninja?"

"Apparently." Z shrugged. "You know you've been a ranger too long when hearing something like that doesn't surprise you."

"Well, I just want to know when Sky, Kat, and Cruger will be done talking to Joe ... I mean Dustin." Bridge stared at the door into the conference room that was attached to the cadets' common room. "Dustin's aura was really blue and black. He's really worried."

"You would be too if your daughter was brainwashed and kidnapped by an evil space ninja warlord." Sky groaned as he walked into the silent room. "This is a huge mess and we're going to need more man-power than we have if we want to have a chance to save Camila."

"Meaning ... what exactly?" Z asked, abandoning her usual tone and attitude.

"Cruger, Dustin, and Kat are working on locating the other ex-Ninja Storm rangers. They'll be the best to help us, since they've already dealt with Lothor and his dirty tricks." Sky's steel-blue eyes showed the guilt he felt.

"Hey ... uh ... you gonna be okay, Sky?" Syd asked gently.

"Yah ... I'm just tired ... and worried." Sky glared at the floor as if it was its fault. "I can't help but think that I'm responsible for this in some way. If Camila hadn't run off on her own, Lothor wouldn't have been able to zap her."

"You couldn't have done anything. Lothor would have caught her alone sooner or later." Bridge was starting to feel the effects of Sky's attitude. Negative feelings were rolling off of their squad leader in huge tidal waves, and Bridge wasn't sure how much more he could take. "She'll be fine."

"Yah, she's tough ... you have to have faith in her will to break free." Z added.

Sky's shoulders sagged in defeat. "I'm going to go for a walk to clear my head. Let me know when there's news." His teammates' heads bobbed up and down. "Thanks."

* * *

**In Lothor's space ship, orbiting earth **

* * *

"You should have let me kill them." Camila snarled as she used dark ninja magic to heal her ankle. 

Lothor chuckled. "I assure you that you will get your chance when we rule this planet. Imagine, Camila, taking revenge on all who have hurt you and murdered your mother. All of those brats at SPD for example. Oh look, there is the red ranger ... all alone." Sure enough, the screen on the consol in the middle of the room showed Sky wandering through one of the city's parks.

"Let me go!" Camila begged and demanded eyes burning and hungry. "He's the reason I was hurt ... I want to make him _pay .._."

Lothor smiled darkly, glancing at the small black device on Camila's arm. "Of course ... you know what to do ... "

* * *

The park he'd come to had been his favorite as a kid, and it meant even more to him now. It was where a monument to all rangers had been created when he was twelve. The names of all rangers in the planet's history had been carved into the granite base. Glancing over the words, he noticed the one name he'd never been able to match a face to. Dustin Brooks ... aka: Joe Jones, the yellow Ninja Storm ranger ... Camila's father ... what forced him to leave Blue Bay Harbor, the ninja academy, and most of all, the people he'd fought next to when protecting the world? He doubted Dustin would want to talk about it, and chances were, that the other Ninja Rangers wouldn't be able to tell much about it either ... but now ... 

Sky sighed and sat down on a concrete bench, head in his hands. Camila's capture was his fault, no matter what everyone else thought. In turn, it was his responsibility to make sure that this story ended happily. "Camila ... I'm so sorry ..." Something that looked like a black bolt of lighting crashed down into the ground, creating a huge cloud of dust.

"You should be ... and will be ... starting NOW!!!" Camila growled as she leapt out of the cloud and at at the red ranger. He ducked and Camila went soaring over him. She landed on her feet and shot three python-sized snakes out of the palm of her right hand toward the red ranger. As the serpents coiled around his body, Sky noticed a second of hesitation, followed quickly by a tight contracting of the telekinetic bodies.

"Camila ... you don't really want to hurt me ... do you?" Sky asked, using what breath he could muster.

"Yes!" Camila shouted as she swung her prey against a tree and dropped him. "It's all your fault! You're the reason I ..." She dropped to her knees, clutching her head and crying. "No! I don't want to do this ... stop it ... augh!!" She screamed in pain, nails digging into the palms of her hands. "What did I do?"

"Camila?" Sky cautiously approached the sobbing figure, but his morpher beeped urgently. Knowing what ignoring it would do, Sky answered the call.

"Get back here right now, Sky. Camila is too dangerous in this state." Dustin's voice ordered. "Lothor's going to be sending another mind-erase beam soon, and then you'll be easy pickings."

"I'll morph if I have to." Sky replied with a snap.

"Return to base now, cadet." Cruger demanded. "There's a power signature from a morpher other than your own where you are. Camila has a morpher, no doubt given to her by Lothor. You are to return, now."

Sky snapped his morpher shut and replaced it in his belt with a huff.

"Leave." Camila shrank away as Sky came closer to her. "I don't want to hurt anyone. Do anything you have to do to stop me ... please." Hazel eyes met blue as she pleaded.

Sky's breath caught in his throat. The mental image of pulling the trigger of his laser blaster with Camila facing him was too much ... he'd never be able to do it. "Hurry, let's go." Sky pulled her up from the ground, supporting her weight with an arm around her waist.

"What, are you stupid?! Let me go!" Camila tried to pull away, but Sky was stronger.

"When Lothor tries to fire another beam, this will deflect it." Sky replied, using his free arm to put a force field over both of them.

"You don't understand." Camila insisted. "It's not something you can block ... I can't stop it ..." She clawed at the small device on her forearm as it seemed to spark to life. "You can't save me. Dark storm, ranger form, ha!" Black spandex appeared and clothed Camila's body. In the center of the suit was a sliver crescent moon with a teardrop hanging from the top point. The visor of the black helmet was outlined by a silver bat. On her back, she wore a long silver bo staff.

"Camila, you need to snap out of this!" Sky's hand reached instinctively for his blaster. "We can help you."

"Go, before it has total control over me." Camila's hand made a quick, diagonal, slashing motion and the next thing Sky knew, he was in the SPD command center.

* * *

"What happened?" Sky demanded. 

"It was Camila, not us." Kat explained. "She used some sort of teleporting ability."

"Actually, it was a rip in the 'fabric', if you will, of reality that allows Camila to transport herself or someone else almost instantaneously to any other place in the universe." An Asian man in dressed in green, who appeared to be about Dustin's age, spoke up from a group of adults in a corner.

"Haha ... sorry about him ... unfortunately, the doctors were wrong. Geekdom isn't a curable condition." The darker man next to him, who was in red clothes, laughed good naturedly. He also appeared to be around Dustin's age.

"Shane ..." A blonde woman in light blue warned. "Global emergency ... if you've learned anything since 2003, it should have been that times like this need you to be serious and other times you can be ... you."

"Heh ... sorry, Tor." Shane chuckled and ducked away from the ex-blue ranger's wrath.

Two more men stood a bit off to the side of the others. One was a tall blonde in crimson. The other one was shorter, with darker skin and hair, and was dressed in navy blue.

Hunter ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Guess we should have known that Lothor would come back with better toys ..." He growled. "Some kind of friends we were, letting Dustin and Cammy take off after ... after the accident. We shouldn't have let them go it alone ... we should have at least _tried_ to keep in touch ..."

Blake shook his head. "Dustin might've still been pretty flakey, but he had a good plan. His head is almost as hard as yours ... none of us would have been able to stop him."

"So, you're all of the former Ninja Storm rangers?" Sky asked. When they nodded, Sky posed another question. "What were you talking about when you mentioned an accident?"

"Camila's mom died during the 'Alien Expulsions' a few years after we teamed up with the Dino Thunder rangers. That's when Lothor resurfaced again and started to hunt down Camila. He thought that it was our fault that her mom died." Cam explained. "Even though he's evil, Lothor is still very loyal to his family ... well ... excluding my father and I from the list."

"He thinks Camila belongs in what's left of his army, but I refuse to let them take her without a fight." Dustin announced as he entered the room. He was wearing his ninja training outfit instead of his SPD janitor's ensemble. "My guess is that Lothor wants to use her rage that's built up ever since she was younger to advance his plans for taking over the world. The fact that he got her to attack you, Sky, is enough to prove that he's got her entirely under his control ... at least for now."

Alarms began to sound and red lights flashed, signaling an attack was taking place. "Dr. Manx, report!" Cruger demanded as the other three rangers entered the room.

"Sir, it's Camila." Kat paused. "She's at the harbor."

* * *

_A/n: Don't kill me because I haven't posted for so long ... I'm sorry. The future chapters will have a lot more to do with Camila's past and other things discussed in this chapter ... hopefully you'll continue to read and review. _

_PS: I know Lothor isn't supposed to be around anymore, but I just liked the feel of it, and he's got a new, lower-tech ship now, since the first one self destructed._


End file.
